California Chiropractor And Staff Charged With Insurance Fraud

A California chiropractor was arraigned in Sacramento Superior Court on Wednesday on eight felony counts of insurance fraud for his alleged role in a fraud scheme billing health and auto insurers for treatment services never provided.

The chiropractor is William Guenther, 69, of Granite Bay and former owner of Fort Sutter Chiropractic. Former in-house biller Pam Rivas, 58, of Cameron Park, and office managers Cristen Jones-Hassanali, 37, of Sacramento and Stacey Fellows, 37, also of Sacramento, face seven counts of felony insurance charges.

An investigation by department detectives revealed Guenther and his staff billed several insurers for mechanical traction treatments for 50 to 70 patients per day between 2012 and 2015, when no mechanical traction units were in the office. Insurers reportedly paid $150,325 to Fort Sutter Chiropractic in fraudulent claims.

Guenther was released on $150,000 bail. Rivas, Jones-Hassanali, and Fellows are scheduled to appear in court today. This case is being prosecuted by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.

Fort Sutter Chiropractic is under new ownership and Guenther is no longer affiliated with the practice.

“Health insurance fraud is rampant in California, totaling billions of dollars annually and requiring consumers to pay higher premiums,” Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a statement.